Long scoring runs vaulted the Seattle Christian boys' basketball team to a 56-44 Nisqually League home victory against Life Christian Academy of Tacoma at the Warriors' SeaTac campus on Friday, January 6, in the nightcap of a girls' and boys' doubleheader.
Seattle Christian heads the league standings at 4-0 with an 8-2 overall record. Life Christian fell to 2-1 and 7-4.
"Tyler Stein was working hard and Cody Miller stepped up as a leader," SCS head coach Shaun DeYager said. "He's seeing his potential as far as effort goes. We made our early runs with steals. After our big leads, we lost focus. The team has not peaked in being the aggressor, but we're 4-0 in league and control our own destiny."
Despite regularly opening up huge leads during the game, the Warriors were forced to rely on fourth quarter key plays to hold off the charging Eagles.
After Shawn Abe's two free throws placed Seattle Christian in a 47-28 command with its greatest lead early in the fourth quarter, Life Christian roared back into the fray.
Game action turned fast, furious and turnover laden.
Jake Comfort led an Eagle charge on eight fourth quarter points and the Warriors were unable to protect the ball well while taking low percentage shots quickly.
With 4:43 remaining in the fourth quarter, the SCS led had been narrowed to 47-35. Richard Jensen temporarily stopped the Seattle Christian bleeding by draining two free throws for a 49-35 Warrior lead.
LCA responded by notching six consecutive points to narrow its deficit to 49-41 as 2:48 remained in regulation.
Abe's power drive resulting in a standard three-point play gave the warriors breathing room in a 52-41 control 15 seconds later. Life Christian had opportunities to close the gap even more during its rally, but only shot 5-for-10 from the free throw line. This weakness at the free throw line was accentuated by the Eagles' 10-for-30 charity toss performance for the entire game.
From the outset, the Warriors were intent on running away with the game.
Trailing 7-5 in the first quarter, SCS impressively turned up the intensity, beginning with Miller's three-point bomb at the 1:59 mark. Richard Jensen scored on a breakaway lay in ahead of his buzzer-beating three-pointer to give the Warriors a 13-7 margin after one quarter.
This scoring salvo spurred the Seattle Christian squad to a blistering second quarter shock treatment of Life Christian Academy. Chaise DeVries combined with Jensen and Miller for 10 continuous Warrior points to cap an 18-0 surge that began in the first quarter as the domination turned into a 23-7 score.
Following a halftime lead of 25-15, SCS continually floored its accelerator to forge impressive leads in the third quarter, including two 18-point margins. Then, came the fourth quarter drop off.
For the host Warriors, Miller led the way with 24 points on 6-of-13 field goals from standard range and 3-for-5 from three-point territory. Jensen added 15 points. Stein came off the bench to grab 12 rebounds, score five points and own five steals.
Comfort scored 20 Life Christian points despite being an uneasy 4-for-10 at the free throw line. Hunter Haley had seven points and eight rebounds.
Seattle Christian moved on to a January 10 hosting of second place Cascade Christian.
